Wild Facts About … Moose

The largest deer species in the world lives right here in Canada, lumbering — mostly docilely in spring and summer — through every province and territory except P.E.I. In the fall, however, male moose can get downright crazed when fighting for mates. Here are five facts you may not know about Alces alces, Canada’s (usually) gentle giant. 

Huge Information 

Moose are big all over. An adult moose can grow to 2.3 m tall (at the shoulder), and a healthy male can weigh up to 600 kg — that’s more than a black bear going into hibernation. Its long legs are great for wading through snow and water, but they’re not especially helpful when it comes to running. A moose’s top speed is around 55 km/h, which is slower than both the white-tail deer and the elk. And it’s downright sluggish compared to the Prairie-dwelling pronghorn antelope, which can sprint as fast as 90 km/h. But a moose has more impressive headgear. So ha!

Rack Star 

Bull moose spend five months — between about April and August — growing their antlers every year. A full-grown bull’s rack can have a span up to two metres, and weigh nearly 40 kg. (Imagine carting around the equivalent of a baby hippo on your head? Respect.) Antler size and shape is affected by diet, weather, habitat, and heredity, but, assuming no genetic deformities or injuries, they usually grow in one of two shapes: a palmate “shovel” shape and a “pole” shape, with long points or tines. No matter the shape of their rack, by late August, when their mood begins to change (rutting season is on the horizon), bulls start to rub their antlers against trees — it’s called thrashing — to stake out territory against rivals. 

Love Is in the Air? 

During the fall rut, which typically peaks towards the end of September and into October, males challenge each other as they compete for female attention. Typically, the male with the less impressive rack backs down immediately, but sometimes the situation escalates into antler-to-antler combat that can last from a few minutes to a few hours. The rut is hard on bulls — they can drop up to 20% of their body weight in the fall. It’s not just the fighting that’s stressful; courting females takes effort too. A male will, for example, marinate in his own urine, hoping the scent will entice the ladies: he digs a pit, pees on the ground, and then wallows until soaked in what might be the strangest cologne ever. But that’s nowhere near as odd as some other reported moose-in-love behaviour, namely, mistaking non-moose females for possible paramours. There was one alleged case in Vermont in 1986 where a farmer reported that a bull wooed his female cow, Jessica, for 76 days. (The relationship, sadly, did not work out.)

Being a Big Baby 

Pregnant females give birth to cocker spaniel-sized newborns in late May and early June. The babies grow faster than any mammal in North America, gaining one kilogram per day in the first month, and up to three kilograms per day after that. Mom — if she’s eating like it’s her job — can produce up to four litres of milk per day, enough for the youngster to nurse up to nine times per day. By a year old, a calf can weigh more than 200 kg — or at least 15 times its weight at birth. In comparison, human babies typically only triple their weight in a year. Pfft. Slackers. 

Moose on the Loose 

Despite the fact that Newfoundland has North America’s most concentrated population of moose — or about one for every four people — the animals aren’t native to the island. They were successfully introduced in the early 1900s as a way to lessen hunting pressure on caribou. The province thought that another, similar deer species would mean plenty of hunting opportunities without decimating the caribou population. If Newfoundland is home to Canada’s densest moose population, Northern Ontario might be home to the country’s largest collection of white moose; there are reports of a concentration of “ghost” moose around Foleyet, Ont., for example. (They’re not albino. The white fur is caused by a genetic mutation called leucism, and it can occur in other species as well.) That said, don’t go to the area expecting to see one of these spectral specimens. They can be hard to spot. Especially in the winter.